Stranded
by rosemarygreeneyes
Summary: In which the original team plus Roy are stuck on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Artemis is stuck with the little troll known as the Boy Wonder, Kaldur and Zatanna will have to deal with a hungry speedster, Conner and M'gann have lots of alone time and Roy is left fending off crazed wildlife. But as they attempt to survive, something evil is lurking in the shadows...
1. Chapter 1: East

A/N – Note at the bottom, feel free to not read it.

~ I don't own, I only own the island (I wish)

_Chapter 1: _

_The Eastern side of an unknown island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean-_

"You wouldn't happen to have an inflatable raft in there, would you, Boy Wonder?" Artemis asked wryly as she surveyed the seemingly endless blue expanse. Robin narrowed his eyes, appearing to actually consider the question before snorting.

"Nah, left it in the spare utility belt. Sorry, Art."

Artemis let out a drawn out sigh, sitting down heavily on the pristine white sand.

"Doesn't hurt to check." She muttered as she placed her bow beside her. Robin stayed standing, scanning the horizon. If he were to look behind him, he knew he would be met with the sight of an incredibly dense tropical forest with looping vines, trees that teemed with wildlife. And when he glanced left, there was the bay they first washed up on, the sand scattered with pieces of coral and shells. But in front of him, as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but the crystalline aqua waves undulating gently, a stray seagull overhead and the burning hot sun.

"So what's the plan?"

Robin glanced down at the blonde who appeared to be checking her quiver.

"Your comm. unit isn't working?"

Artemis shook her head ruefully.

"Yours?" She asked, hopeful.

Robin shook his head in return. If only it was that easy.

"Great." She grumbled, closing her eyes for a moment. She opened them a second later, as a thought struck her.

"How about M'gann? Maybe she can hook us up with a mindlink and we-"

"No, the ship crashed, remember? Miss M is probably a little out of it considering her connection to her ship. Also, we have no idea where the others are or if we're even in her range at all." Robin interrupted. Artemis' face looked stricken. Robin seem to sense her hesitation as he exhaled and answered the question she was too on edge to ask.

"Relax. We made it to the shore didn't we? The crash wasn't far from the bay and the island is big enough that when M'gann ejected us from the ship, we could've landed in different locations. I'd say it's pretty probable that they made it out unharmed."

"Pretty probable!?" The blonde exclaimed, her normally gravelly voice an octave or two higher.

Robin crossed his arms, looking thoughtful.

"I have a location beacon we can use but its signal isn't very strong. Someone would have to be in a five-mile radius at best to pick it up."

"Are we just not going to worry about the rest of the team? At all?" Artemis asked, still distraught. Robin's face went stony.

"Artemis. We have to stay focused. It-"

"This is just like the time in the cave, isn't it?" The blonde was staring up at him with eyes wide in slight horror. The impromptu mission against Red Torpedo and Red Inferno had been a bad experience for everyone, especially Robin sighed loudly, crouching down to Artemis' level. The whites of his mask burning into her eyes as he spoke.

"I don't make promises that I can't keep. And I try not to lie to people I trust, so I'll be honest with you. We need to stay calm, do what we can and worry about the mission right now."

Artemis' face didn't soften up at all and if anything, her gaze went hard.

"Our mission right now is to stay alive, figure out a way to contact the league and _then_ go find the others. Priorities." Robin's voice was firm and certain.

Artemis' eyes searched his face. Whatever she was looking for, Robin's face wasn't showing, as his face was blank. Like a mask on top of a mask- unrecognizable and unreadable. She let out a tiny huff of breath and looked away, towards the ocean. Robin hesitated for a split second before gripping her shoulder with a gauntlet-covered hand.

"We're going to find them."

"You sure about that? Or is it just 'pretty probable'?" Artemis muttered, cracking her fingers. Robin's grip on her tightened for a moment.

"I don't make promises I can't keep." He repeated.

Something in his voice made Artemis tear her eyes away from the aqua blue waters, but by the time she looked up, the pressure on her shoulder was gone. But she could still feel the imprints of the gloved fingers on her skin. She flexed her shoulder to get rid of the feeling and exhaled deeply.

She could handle this. She handled the Red Tornado's freaky twins just fine. She had successfully done difficult missions before. It was just that this time there was no safety net of the League or her sister or even the Team. It was just her and this-this boy who was surveying the area with his back to her. Because while he was Robin, the Boy Wonder, the first sidekick ever and one half of the dynamic duo, he was still just a kid.

A kid who she had to trust to stay safe on an island.

In the middle of nowhere.

With no help.

And no communication.

And no team and what the _hell_ were they even supposed to-

Artemis rested her head on her knees, her breath coming out in short bursts. She forced herself to swallow down any rising feelings of panic.

That's what got to her the last time it was just her and Robin. Panic. She couldn't afford that right now. What did Robin say again? _Get traught. Focus on the mission... _

Artemis swallowed again. She needed to be logical. The Team was going to be fine. M'gann had ejected them all out of the ship so obviously no one was caught in the wreckage. Robin was right; they were probably just on another part of the island. That was a good thing. And the League was probably looking for them, or at least they would be soon. Even though she had only known Ollie for a couple of months, she believed him when he said he'd look out for her. So really, all her and Robin had to worry about was food, water, shelter, protection, finding the rest of the team-

Shit.

That was still a lot.

Artemis shook her head and rolled her shoulders back, resting her hands on the sand. She needed to focus on the task at hand… Artemis let out another breath and hoped her voice would come out steady.

"Okay, so location beacon. How does that work?"

Robin turned slightly towards her, his face more open and relaxed. He plopped down on the sand beside her and pulled out a circular device from his belt.

"It gives off a signal that the League and most of the Bat tech can pick up, it's pretty basic. It's meant for marking important locations during recon missions so luckily the signal lasts for a while."

Artemis nodded. So far, so good.

"So how long is 'a while'?"

Robin thought for a second.

"Two, maybe three days."

Artemis perked up slightly, a look of hope coming over her face.

"Well, at least most of the league can fly. If they're searching for us, they'd pick it up as soon as they flew over, right?"

Robin sighed.

"Yeah, they would. But this was supposed to be a three-day mission. An undercover mission. Which means they aren't expecting us to contact them at all. They won't be looking for us for at least another four days."

The blonde's look of hope faded away. She tried to cover up the wave of alarm that shot through her by making a joke-

"So then I'm stuck here. With you."

Luckily, Robin didn't question her sudden attempt at humor. Actually, if Artemis didn't know better, she'd say the boy wonder was rolling his eyes under the domino mask.

"Be glad it's not KF."

Artemis' eyes widened and she shuddered in disgust.

"You're right. I'll take you over Kid Idiot any day. We'd probably just end up murdering each other. Or he'd try to eat me and I'd drown him. At least you're useful."

Robin smirked. Artemis' heart felt lighter. She could do banter. She started to smile until Robin decided to speak again-

"Right, like you two wouldn't be using this alone time for something else..."

Artemis' brow furrowed, the gears turning in her head as Robin began walking towards the dense green forest, his boots making perfect imprints in the previously untouched sand.

Suddenly she pulled a face, her smile dropping.

"What? Eww. Rob, are you actually implying that I'd ever like that freckle covered food vacuum? Because no. Who knows what's been in that mouth."

"Whatever you say Artemis. Whatever you say." Robin sing-songed. Artemis frowned at his tone.

"I don't like him. Never have, never will. Got it?" She yelled at his rapidly retreating back.

"_Sure_."

Artemis still wasn't sure if she liked the tone of his voice and she opened her mouth to protest further when Robin spoke again, his voice carrying over the sound of the crashing waves.

"You ready?"

The blonde arched an eyebrow – she had stretched out and laid her head on her arms. If they were going to be stuck here, they might as well be comfortable.

"For what, exactly?" She asked drily.

"To start gathering supplies." Robin threw behind him as he walked on, nearly reaching the tree line.

Artemis let out a groan, even as she stood and grabbed her bow.

"No sun tanning?"

"Nope." Robin said cheerfully as he disappeared from sight.

Artemis let out a sigh, trudging after the brunette.

"Great."

**A/N2:** Wow, okay I have been gone for way too long now. If you follow me for Playing Pretend, it will be up soon, yay! But this had to go up first because it's been rattling in my mind for months and also this was a request from beachlover270. For Christmas. So I'm a bit behind. She requested traught so here is a traught-tastic fic for her! All other pairings are up to you, dear reader, so please tell me what you want! Next chapter is all done, so it should be up sometime next week. Also- this is probably the longest chapter except for the last 2 or 3. Every other chapter will be under 1k.

** I will be taking requests/ suggestions for this fic after the 10th chapter! Please make them island related and relatively appropriate but other than that, do what you want!

Please review/ favorite/ subscribe if you enjoyed!

- Rosemary


	2. Chapter 2: South

_Chapter 2: _

_On an unknown island in the Pacific Ocean, the Southern side- _

"Great! We're stranded! But what I want to know is-where is the_ food_? Shouldn't we be more prepared for this?!"

Wally's voice was a near wail. Zatanna resisted the urge to massage her temples. She could deal with the sweltering heat, the hot sand, and the screeching birds. But roll that all into one plus one hungry speedster? She was already getting a headache.

She sighed and looked over to the ocean as the figure of their leader emerged from the water. His forehead was slick, most likely with a combination of sweat and seawater. The atlantean seemed ill at ease. Zatanna couldn't tell if it was because of Wally's shrieking or if it was the bad combo of simultaneously drying and being hydrated at the same time.

"How's the water?" The magician called over the sound of Wally's speed ranting. The redhead paused as Kaldur made his way towards them, a heavy frown present on his face.

"Kid Flash, I think we would both appreciate it greatly if you did not...raise your voice to such shrill decibels."

Zatanna nodded, pulling at her jacket, which was starting to stick to her sweaty skin. Wally threw his hands up in exasperation.

"I'm just worried about, you know- staying alive! Is that such a bad thing?"

"It is when you act like a drama queen." Zatanna said as calmly as she could. She ignored Wally's loud squawk of indignation and turned to their leader.

"So- any fish friends that could send Aquaman a message or see if Ro-" Zatanna paused.

"-If the others are okay?"

The brunette bit her lip. She had nearly said Robin. Luckily she caught it in time... Wally shot her an odd look, as Kaldur shook his head, a grimace on his face.

"Strangely enough, I could not find any signs of aquatic life."

Zatanna's eyebrows furrowed as she pushed her hair off her shoulders. It was _so_ hot. "Huh. That's weird."

The Atlantean nodded uneasily.

"Indeed. It is most concerning."

Zatanna liked to imagine that they both jumped in surprise at Wally's loud huff.

"Let me get this straight- Not only are we stuck on some random island in the middle of nowhere with zero food, which hey, speedsters need- but also zero way of contacting the others of the League?!"

Zatanna was a second away from wringing the redhead's neck if it would get him to quit whining. And from the look on Kaldur's face, he was thinking the same thing too. It was just too _hot_ for this-

"Okay, that's it!" Zatanna snapped. Then, a moment later she simply yanked her blazer off and held it up, squinting. Wally huffed and threw his hands in the air.

"Ekam em a potknat dna strohs!" She commanded, her eyes flaring yellow. A moment later, she was dressed in a white tank top and khaki shorts. She flipped what used to be her blazer- now a wide brimmed sun hat, and tipped it onto her head. Already she felt cooler and more relaxed.

Wally paused in his antics to stop and stare.

"I must already be hallucinating from the sun."

Zatanna smirked and said-

"Sserd eht syob in hcaeb sehtolc!"

In a burst of light, the redhead now wore a loose red t-shirt and yellow board shorts. Kaldur received a sweat wicking dark blue shirt and long cargo pants. His water bearers were still in place and the teen reached up to touch a sunhat that perched atop his head.

"I thought you might want some shade." Zatanna explained, at his look of confusion. Kaldur nodded, standing up straight and shifting into a more stiff leader mode.

"Thank you Zatanna. Wally, although I disagree with the way you expressed your concern, I agree. If possible, we should attempt to find the Team. But first, we must find fresh water and food. The League is not expecting communication with us for a few days. We should prepare for a week, at the most and a few days at best. Additionally, we should keep our guard up. We do not know what is beyond the tree line. We should explore. I-"

"Please don't say we're splitting up. Something always goes wrong when people split up." Wally interrupted, a frown on his face.

"And-" He zoomed over to Zatanna's side.

"If we stick together, I'll be able to protect you Zee. So don't worry, you won't get attacked by some rabid monkey with the mighty Kid Flash." He fired a smile at the magician. Zatanna snorted as the redhead waggled his eyebrows.

"The same mighty Kid Flash that cried the last time we had movie night? Or who screamed when he saw spider in the mountain? Don't worry-I can take care of myself."

"Hey! Frozen is a cinematic masterpiece and that spider was afreakin' _mutant_-"

Kaldur sighed, cutting a blushing Wally off.

"Then it is agreed. We will explore the forest together and scavenge for edible vegetation."

Wally nodded vigorously, his embarrassment forgotten as they started the trek up the mountain to the jungle.

"Yeah, yeah it's all good- just as long as we're not splitting up."

**A/N: **Apparently Zatanna did not get the memo that this is a traught fic lol. Since finals are over and I can write to my heart's content, next chapter will be up next week! Please check out my poll to vote for the side pairings in this story and review/follow/favorite if you enjoyed!

-Rosemary


	3. Chapter 3: West

**A/N: **I'm not going to lie; supermartian is not my strong suit. Because of that, their chapters probably won't be as long as Dick and Artemis' or even Kaldur/Zatanna/Wally's. Anyway, I tried to do what I could and next week's chapter will be better. Please don't forget to vote in the poll on my profile for the sidepairings! :) -Rosemary

/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

_Chapter 3: _

_On an unknown island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, the Western side-_

"We should split up."

M'gann looked up from where she sat on a hastily made mat of palm leaves in the shade of the greenery surrounding the lagoon. Her green skin seemed incredibly lackluster and pale in comparison to the vibrant green jungle that surrounded them.

The Martian blinked her eyes blearily at the teen that was staring at her with his brow furrowed in concern.

"I-I don't know Conner... Don't you think-isn't that a little dangerous?" The Martian's voice was faint and unsteady. Conner clenched his fists.

"It's better than being helpless." He said without thinking. M'gann lowered her gaze, slightly hurt at his harsh tone. Conner stared at her for a moment, going over his words. He wasn't exactly sure why she was reacting the way she was. He was just being factual and he didn't say anything too brutal.

"I'm sorry that we're stuck here...I-I know this whole thing is all my fault..." M'gann whispered, knowing the clone would hear her regardless. Conner felt a twinge of guilt. He hated making M'gann feel bad. They were friends, teammates and…Romantic partners? Conner didn't exactly know what to call what they had, but whatever it was made him crouch down and lay a tentative hand on M'gann's shoulder.

" It's not your fault. The bioship-"

He trailed off as M'gann's large green eyes stared up at him adoringly, even as he faltered for words. Her cheeks went as red as her hair and they both looked away. Conner could hear the fast beating of her heart almost as fast as his. M'gann blinked and stared down at the ground.

"Thanks Conner but the ship is part of me. It's just-I'm not completely sure I know what happened. I wasn't distracted, or hurt or anything else. Nothing hit the ship. It-it was just a-"

"A jolt." Conner growled out, remembering the huge tremor that had seemed to go through the bioship. M'gann bit her lip and nodded.

"I thought that was from you ejecting us." The kryptonian said slowly. M'gann shook her head, her voice coming out shaky, but still more certain than before.

"It wasn't me. I-I felt something was wrong with my ship and I reacted as fast as I could and now the Team is missing. It was a stupid decision because now we're all separated and-"

"Yeah, so? You saved everyone so it doesn't matter." Superboy interrupted bluntly.

M'gann settled back on her bed of leaves. She seemed to be convincing herself more than Conner was.

"I- I guess you're right."

Conner looked up in surprise as the Martian flashed him one of her signature smiles. One of the smiles that Wally called beautiful like Conner wished he had the courage to.

"And…We can split up if you really want." She offered, her smile still aimed at him.

Conner considered her words carefully. Truthfully, there was no where else he'd rather be than next to her, but she needed water badly, they needed to find shelter and if anyone could find the rest of Team fastest, it was probably them. And they really couldn't do any of that if they stuck here next to the dubious looking lagoon they had landed next to. But M'gann's smile looked strained, she was still breathing raggedly and her skin was still that unnatural pale green. One more look at his friend and Superboy made up his mind.

Conner took her hand as lightly as possible while straining his ears for the sound of running water in the chorus of chirps, squawks and rustling. He knew that M'gann was already weak from the crash and she wouldn't last too long if this heat kept up... But as he glanced down at the pale green girl beside him he didn't say any of that. Instead-

"We'll figure it out." He stated, leaving no room for argument. Because between the two of them it always worked out.


	4. Chapter 4: North

**A/N:** This is my (first) attempt at humor/ crack. If it's not working, then please, please tell me, cause I would hate for you guys to suffer through my questionable sense of humor. But don't worry because to make up for this randomness, there is more traught up ahead! I'll be posting the next chapter tomorrow morning because Roy's chapters are super short. Don't forget to do the poll for side pairings if you haven't already!

Without further ado-

_Chapter 3.5: _

_On an unknown island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, the Northern side-_

"Motherfu-"

Roy swung his quiver at the squawking seagull that had attempted to dive bomb him. It hit solidly and the stupid ass bird- didn't it realize he was wearing red? Like, all red. Wasn't that some sort of warning in the animal kingdom or some shit? -The bird took off with a wobbly noise of indignation. He did not sign up for this.

"I'm wearing red you fucking-"

Something wet and gooey splattered on his shoulder, freckling his cheeks and his domino mask.

Shit.

Like, literally there was fucking shit on his shoulder.

Roy scrunched up his nose and glared up to where the bird circled above him.

"You're dead." He ground out, eyes narrowing under the domino mask.

The bird let out a final squawk - and it may have been the heat getting to him but the stupid thing sounded smug-

Roy's fingers twitched towards his quiver but the bird disappeared into the solid green wall that was the jungle before he could properly show it where the hell it actually belonged in the food chain. He flipped off the tree it had disappeared behind-

And then he tried not to throw up from the disgusting smell coming from his shoulder. Roy sighed and started towards the beach. He needed to wash this stuff off before he passed out from the stench.

With his luck though, the water would be filled with sharks, or killer starfish or electric eels or evil siren mermaids or some shit like that because his life _sucked_.

With a heavy grumble and some colorful cursing (Ollie would be so proud-) Roy trudged into the water. And promptly slipped and fell with a splash- headfirst into some seaweed.

Seaweed that was filled with sea urchins.

"Motherfu-"


	5. Chapter 5: East

**A/N: **First of all- wow. Thanks so much for the reviews and the follows and the favorites because honestly I am blown away by the response I get every chapter. It keeps me going and it keeps me updating! So this is my shoutout to all those guest accounts which I can't pm. Thanks guys!

Second- Y'all made me break my promise. This is a drabble series ie; every chapter is under 1k. This is 1.5 k! But don't expect this every chapter!

Third-I read the reviews & you guys motivated me to find the traught love within me so here we go. Also, we got some denial!Artemis (but I'm sure Robin will get to her sooner or later)

P.S please don't kill me for the cliffie ending. : )

_Chapter 4: _

_On an unknown island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, the Eastern side-_

"Hey boy blunder!" Artemis panted, her blonde hair slick with sweat and her cheeks flushed as she leaned against a tree trunk that was probably as thick as at least two telephone poles. There was a slight rustle in the treetops ahead of her before a mop of dark hair poked through the foliage.

"You rang?" Robin asked, grinning. Artemis glared up at his sweat free face and crossed her arms halfheartedly.

"You know there's nothing chasing after us, right? Like, no villains, no wild animals or whatever the hell else you think is after us so maybe we could slow it down? Just a little? Or at least quit with the acrobatics show. I get it. You're flexible and fast, but get your ass down here and quit being such a dick about it!"

She could practically feel the raised eyebrow from here. Robin snickered, like there was some joke she wasn't in on, before disappearing again. Artemis waited as the seconds ticked by, growing more and more irritated with each passing one. She wiped her forehead, blinking through the hazy heat of the jungle. She'd been losing her sense of time on the island, and since nearly none of the tech was working she had no idea how long they'd been out here, but with Robin disappearing every other freakin' minute it felt like hours.

She leaned her head back against the bark of the tree and closed her eyes, which felt great, even if it was just for a moment. It was tiring out here, almost as hot as it had been in Bialaya with-

_Swish._

Artemis' eyes flicked open and she watched the trees across from her carefully as she frowned. There was a another twitch in the leafy green foliage just up ahead and Artemis rolled her eyes. Now the little troll decided to come back, just as she was resting. She shook herself, stood up straight and stomped towards the rustling as she snapped-

"Robin, I swear to god, next time you leave me down here I'll put an arrow in your-"

A hand clamped over her mouth and yanked her back into the mess of vines and leaves. She let out a yelp of surprise that was muffled by the glove covering her mouth. It took less than a second for her to react with a quick, sharp elbow to the stomach somewhere behind her and a heel to a foot-

Before she was wrestled to the ground.

It took about a second for her to struggle out of the surprisingly lax grip her attacker had on her to roll over and raise her fist to deliver a dizzying blow -And it took her exactly two seconds too late to realize who it was beneath her.

Shit, she should've known-

Her eyes widened as too late to pull back, her fist collided with... empty space because Robin was moving, rolling his head out of the way. The blonde let out a small sigh, as Robin grinned cheekily.

"Robin!" Artemis said sharply, not sure who she was more pissed with- herself or the boy who was cackling under her.

"Wow- ha- Artemis, you should've seen your face! Ha-" Robin could barely speak through his laughter. Artemis briefly considered punching him again but settled with letting out a sarcastic laugh.

"Ha ha. You got me good, Rob." She said sardonically, crossing her arms. The brunette was still getting his breath back as Artemis asked,

"Did you have an actual reason for the surprise attack or did you just feel like being a little shit?"

Robin coughed slightly, wiggled mostly out from under the archer and sat up slightly, leaning back on his forearms.

"Actually, there was a real reason. While you were napping-"

"I closed my eyes for like a second, after you _left_ me-" Artemis protested, even as Robin continued,

"I found a herd of wild pigs about a quarter mile from here. I wanted to surprise you. But, you might have scared them off with all your yelling and general noise making." He finished, with a self-satisfied smirk. Artemis simply raised an eyebrow.

"Are you telling me this because you wanted me to shoot down a pig so we could have some wild pig bacon or..."

Robin shook his head, smiling.

"No. Animals mean that there has to be water nearby, which is great because we sort of need that. But now that they're gone that might be a little harder to find."

Artemis opened her mouth to retort, when she noticed the tightness at the edge of his smile. She paused and Robin cleared his throat.

"You know, we've faced worse." Robin started, his tone much more somber although the smirk stayed present.

"Like you said, there's no one after us, but there's also no one counting on us. You have to get out of that mindset."

"The Team-"

"The Team is fine, Artie. What you need to worry about is yourself. Can you do that?"

Artemis eyed the boy across from her. The white mask lenses shone in the filtered sunlight, highlighting his cheekbones and his shock of dark hair. She was suddenly struck by how...out of this world he looked. In this light he didn't look like a dorky little boy or a serious superhero whose skills rivaled those years older than him. He seemed steady and certain and Artemis realized she needed that. He was right, she needed to stay focused and just survive. But-

"How," Her voice came out more gravelly than she had planned and she swallowed once.

"How about you?" She whispered. Robin smiled, but that tightness was still there.

"I'm a professional. I know what to do. I just don't need you giving up on me."

"Well, then you can't give up on me either, got it Boy Blunder?" Artemis countered, watching him carefully. Robin sat up straighter and the tightness that had been in his expression disappeared.

"Got it. You get traught, I stay traught." He said seriously. Artemis rolled her eyes.

"Is this where we pinky promise?" She asked sarcastically. Robin shrugged and let out a cackle, extending his hand. She looked down at the gloved pinky and held hers out to wrap around his.

"You're such a dweeb." She scoffed, even as their pinkies locked around each other for a long moment. His hand felt warm even through the glove and suddenly she wanted to ask him to take it off. Well that was weird.

She shook her head to clear her mind and pulled her hand back.

When Artemis glanced up, she was close enough to notice that even through the mask, Robin was giving her this intense look. She could feel it even though she couldn't see his eyes. Before she even registered what she was doing, she was shifting forward, and Robin moved towards her, closing the distance between them.

Artemis froze. A gloved hand brushed over her knee, sending a tingle through her leg, and Robin was coming in closer-

She sprung back automatically, scrabbling away from him because this was Robin, one of her best friends, Batman's prodigy, the Boy Wonder, and what the _hell_ did she think she was doing- while Robin jolted backwards in response.

Artemis scooted back out of his reach and jumped to her feet. Instinctively, she took a step back.

"Robin, I don't-"

"Careful, there's an edge-" Robin said quickly, reaching out to grab her hand. Artemis froze again, for a different reason this time. She turned her head to look behind her. And then tried not to panic.

A dizzying, sheer drop that ended in a coiling river that looked like the size of a snake from where she stood. She swallowed.

"Guess we found the water." She muttered under her breath. She slowly inched back to where Robin stood. It was painfully quiet as she stepped carefully towards him.

He reached his arm out again to pull her towards him when-

A deep, guttural bellow sounded from the jungle behind him and the collective, thundering stomp of hooves came after it.

Artemis stumbled in surprise and stepped back.

Into thin air.

Then she was falling, plummeting down with Robin stuck at the top of the cliff screaming,

"Artemis!"


	6. Chapter 6: Center

**A/N:** This is one of the maybe 3 glimpses we'll get of the baddies! Yay, I guess? You're not supposed to be able to figure it out quickly so don't worry if you haven't. Anyway, since this is a half chapter (like Roy's) the next one will be up sometime tomorrow. Hopefully. Also, thanks for all the positive feedback and enjoy!

P.S Zatanna/Kaldur/Wally are up next!

_Chapter 4.5: _

_On an unknown island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, the center of the island- _

The light of the flickering monitor screens cast a fluorescent glow onto the metallic floor. Only the hum of the machines and the breeze running through the open air vents filled the air.

In the center of the room, a large 3D, holographic map spread across the table top, various spots lighting up periodically in green, red, yellow.

A slender finger reached across the board, across the shimmering, holographic map of the island to press down on a small, innocuous blue button.

The screen separated into six smaller monitors, each showing a different screen.

In the middle, a view of the island in its entirety was shown. The deceptively crystalline waters lapped the clean sand as the tall, towering palm trees swayed gently in the breeze.

The rest of the monitors showed much less picturesque scenes.

Next to it, a screen displayed a blonde girl falling through the hair as a panicked masked brunette ran to the edge.

Another screen showed a now bruised red headed archer struggling out of the ocean water.

Below, a boy wearing a familiar red symbol on a black shirt held a pale and sickly looking martian.

Beside that, an agitated redhead trailed behind a brunette and a dark-skinned teen who was clearing the way through a forest with water bearers.

And the last screen showed the peak of the mountain where the lair was located.

There was the soft slap of feet against the metal floor outside of the room. The figure before the monitors did not turn, even as the door behind them opened.

The figure still watched the monitors even as the footsteps came to a stop directly behind them.

It was completely quiet for a moment as both watched the flickering screens.

"Is it not lovely? When the toils of your labor are about to come to fruition?" A smug voice said in the dim light.

"I know. We should have teamed up ages ago." Another, smooth, slow voice answered.

The first figure turned round slowly.

"I would not classify this as a team-up." The first voice said, all hints of smugness gone.

"We cannot rush this if both of us are to reach our desired end. I got the children here, now it is time for your end of the bargain." The voice continued.

"I have more patience than you'd think. I'll take care of my part, but I don't want them to get suspicious too soon." The second figure said, a slight hint of irritation bleeding into the smooth voice.

"You forget that this has not yet yielded any benefits for my cause."

"Believe me, I haven't forgot. This hasn't done anything for me either. Now I just need you to be patient with me, because I have a lot in store for the junior justice league. They won't know what hit them."

"Good. Because we are just beginning."

The first figure stood up straighter and snapped their fingers. In a dark corner of the room there was a twitch of movement as a large bird rose its head and unfurled wide colorful wings that with splashes of blood red, light yellow and blue as beautiful as the sea surrounding the island.

There was a long scar running the length of the bird's face, from the eye to the beak. Its left eye was missing; in its place was puckered, dead, featherless skin.

Another snap of the fingers from the figure and the bird on the perch let out a loud squawk and took off.

It wound through the underground complex, eventually coming to a small window where it burst out into the open, swooping over the palm trees, lagoons, climbing higher and higher until it passed over the peak of the mountain where a slight stream of smoke rose. It dove down, down into the verdant jungle that was teeming with life and surrounded by death.


	7. Chapter 7: South

**A/N:** As promised, here's the new chappy! Hope you enjoy and thanks so much for the feedback on the last one, especially all the guest accounts!

Also- this fic might not be updated next week, I'm taking a break to focus on my other fic. Playing Pretend which is longshot and not at all finished. I'm hoping to get both done but if not, I'll see you guys in 2 weeks!

Chapter 5:

_On an unknown island in the Pacific Ocean, the Southern side- _

Zatanna glanced up, squinting her eyes against the glare of the sun in order to catch sight of a brightly colored bird with an odd-looking scar fly through the foliage directly above them. Her stomach twisted slightly in discomfort and her spine tingled. She could've sworn that the animal made eye contact with her but then again, that could be the sun getting to her.

Zatanna fanned herself with a large, foot-long palm leaf she had picked up before they left the beach. This was one thing she had always conveniently glossed over when fantasizing about beaches or watching _Lost_ reruns- it was freaking hot. It would be fine, maybe, if she was with Robin because he had this aura of confidence around him or maybe if she was with Artemis because they got along great but instead she was with-

"Are we there yet?"

Zatanna rolled her eyes. Kaldur was too far ahead of her to even hear Wally's question.

She fanned herself again wishing she could summon the energy to run ahead and join Kaldur in being out of range of the whining speedster. Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to find any coconut trees on the beach. So Wally was apparently about to faint any second now and never hesitated to remind them of that fact at any given moment. Zatanna couldn't decide if she was looking forward to when he finally collapsed and shut up or not. Wally stumbled towards her and flung his arm around her shoulders, as though he could no longer support himself.

"No. We weren't there when you asked five minutes ago and we're still not there now. Also, we don't actually know where 'there' is."

Wally let out a long suffering sigh and leaned more of his weight on her. Zatanna stumbled for a second and came to a stop while Wally lazily gestured with his free hand.

"Now, I'm not saying that magic is real or anything more than just some misunderstood science, _but_ - if you could do some hocus pocus stuff, and this is a big if- then is there any way you could poof up some food?"

Zatanna couldn't help but chuckle.

"You're ridiculous." She said, grinning despite her words. Wally returned her grin, his green eyes glittering with mischief as they began to walk again, his arm still draped around her shoulders.

"Ridiculously hot?" He asked, fluttering his eyelashes. Zatanna shrugged his arm off and nodded, pretending to be serious.

"Obviously. Must be why I'm sweating like crazy." Zatanna replied, straight faced as she fanned herself dramatically.

Wally leaned into the breeze she was creating, coming inches within her face. Zatanna lifted a hand to shove him away, when Wally to turned his face slightly to meet her gaze.

"Don't worry, you still look beautiful." Wally said. His words were typical 'Wall-man' but his tone was way more...genuine than she was used to. Their eyes met and Zatanna frowned slightly because those green eyes sparkled with something different.

"Thanks." She said awkwardly, watching him shrug nonchalantly and move away.

"Just telling the truth." He said, winking. Zatanna relaxed slightly at the wink- that was something that was much more expected from the redhead. She shook her head slightly, cracking a smile at the speedster. She never took his words seriously because he was like that with everyone except Artemis, which was confusing because she could've sworn that the blonde had something going on with him and-

"Zatanna, Wally- I have found a clearing."

A blur sped by her to join Kaldur up front, the words he shouted whipping past her ears, but sounding something like:

"Really? Yes! Food? Food foood-"

Shaking her head, Zatanna blinked up at the sky once, wiped her forehead and trudged after the two boys.


End file.
